Corfu Celebrates Holy Saturday with Iconic “Botides” Clay Pot Smashing Tradition

The contented of Botides is held successful Corfu. Credit: Bett Wikimedia Commons

Thousands of locals and tourists gathered connected Orthodox Holy Saturday successful Spianada Square connected the Greek land of Corfu to ticker the spectacular contented called “botides”.

On Holy Saturday Corfiots who person decorated their windows with reddish flowers and badges, propulsion immense clay pots -called botides- filled with reddish ribbons from their windows. The symbolism is to make an “earthquake” that is similar the 1 that occurred pursuing Christ’s resurrection from his tomb.

The botides are clay jugs with a constrictive spout and 2 handles connected the broadside to transportation them. The balconies are decorated and the residents necktie reddish ribbons to the jugs – reddish is the colour of Corfu.

To adhd to the atmosphere, determination were thunderous cannon fires from the city’s Old Fort, arsenic good arsenic the euphony played by the philharmonic bands of Corfu.

The origins of the botides contented successful Corfu

The customized of the botides successful Spianada connected Corfu is simply a operation of Venetian Traditions and Orthodox customs.

There are assorted theories astir however the contented came about. Some accidental the customized comes from Venetian Catholics, wherever radical threw distant their aged things astatine the opening of the twelvemonth truthful that the caller twelvemonth could bring them caller and amended things. The radical of Corfu adopted this custom, but replaced the aged things with jars to marque much noise.

The botides are clay jugs with a constrictive spout and 2 handles connected the broadside to transportation them. Credit: Greek Reporter

The 2nd mentation refers to the clip of the past Greeks, who celebrated the opening of the cultivation and vegetation play successful April by throwing distant their aged jars to capable the caller ones with the caller crop. Some radical successful Corfu volition surely archer you that, careless of the truth, Corfiots similar to thrust distant evil with their jars, signifying some the extremity of wintertime lethargy and the rebirth of nature.

Earlier connected Saturday the procession successful grant of Saint Spyridon began astatine the religion of Saint Spyridon successful Corfu. The procession was introduced successful 1550 erstwhile Corfu was saved from a famine.

Unlike the remainder of Greece, wherever the epitaph procession takes spot connected Good Friday, successful Corfu a unsocial epitaph procession is besides held connected Holy Saturday greeting unneurotic with the procession of Saint Spyridon. This customized dates backmost to the Venetian period, erstwhile Orthodox processions connected Good Friday were restricted, starring to the transportation and adaptation of the ritual.

Until the evening of the Resurrection, Corfu is flooded with radical who usually be religion services oregon the tiny events and customs that instrumentality spot each implicit the city.

One of the astir awesome but besides amusive customs is the Mastelas custom, which is revived successful the buying halfway of Corfu. According to this custom, the locals acceptable up a fractional tube decorated with ribbons and myrtles and invitation passers-by to propulsion coins – this brings bully luck. At the extremity of the day, erstwhile the bells of the resurrection ring, idiosyncratic has to dive into the tube and instrumentality retired the coins.

What the coins are for, we bash not cognize exactly, but the locals accidental they spell to the community. A fewer centuries ago, erstwhile the customized began, the locals utilized to drawback a passer-by wandering ignorantly done the municipality and propulsion him into the tube to cod the coins.

Related: 15 Reasons to Visit Corfu, Greece